Experiential Modes of Game Play


Appelman Robert
2007 DiGRA '07 - Proceedings of the 2007 DiGRA International Conference: Situated Play

In order to gather empirical & qualitative data on game play across all genres, and at the same time addressing multiple research questions, a framework was established at the VX Lab at Indiana University to standardize methodology. This Experiential Mode Framework allows for the inclusion of player perceptions, experiences, and allows for coupling with game structures and functionality. Following a postpositivist methodology devised by Robert Yin, this paper describes the logic, strategies, and incorporation of the Experiential Mode Framework in Game Play Analysis.

 

Glitch Game Testers: African American Men Breaking Open the Console


DiSalvo Betsy James Guzdail Mark Mcklin Tom Meadows Charles Perry Kenneth Steward Corey Bruckman Amy S.
2009 DiGRA '09 - Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory

Glitch Game Testers is a research project to develop a sustainable high school job program to train and employ high school students as game testers [1]. Our goal is to leverage the passion that young urban African American men have for video games into agency with technology. The first step is to encourage these young people to see the computation behind digital games and the second step is to offer a contextualized computing curriculum [2]. In this paper, we will present findings from formative work on the play practices of young African American men, introduce the Glitch Game Testers project, and report on preliminary findings from workshops. By looking at the intersection of race and gender in gaming practices, we have developed Glitch to specifically meet the cultural needs for young African American men.